Henry Grattan Nolan, (May 5, 1893 – July 8, 1957) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist. He was the first Albertan appointed to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

Biography

Nolan was born in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

(now in Alberta), the son of Patrick James "Paddy" Nolan, a criminal defence lawyer, and Mary Elizabeth Lee. According to his friend, Ronald Martland, who succeeded him on the Supreme Court, Nolan did not have a good relationship with his father, possibly because of his father's struggles with alcohol. Martland said that Nolan "very seldom ever spoke of his father", who had not treated Nolan's mother well. Nolan was determined not to follow the path set by his father. Nolan's wife stated that Nolan's father had not had any sort of relationship with Nolan, and had not even answered Nolan's schoolboy letters.''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'': Nolan, Patrick James
Nolan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in 1914 and was awarded a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

for Alberta in 1915. However, he enlisted in the army during World War I and received a Military Cross in 1918 for his service. He was wounded at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

, in France. After the war, he received a second Bachelor of Arts in 1921 from University College, Oxford. He was called to the English and Alberta bars. He returned to Calgary to practice law, as an associate with the firm of Bennett, Hannah & Sanford, founded by Richard Bedford Bennett. In 1928, he married Doris Margery McCarter. They had two daughters, Moira and Shelagh. During World War II, he served with the Canadian Army, becoming a Vice-Judge Advocate General with the rank of brigadier. From 1945 to 1948, he was a prosecutor before the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

at Tokyo. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946. On March 1, 1956, he was appointed to the

and served barely a year until his death in 1957 at the age of 64.

References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Henry 1893 births 1957 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Canadian Militia officers Canadian Army officers Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian Rhodes Scholars Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Lawyers in Alberta People from Calgary Prosecutors of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East Canadian recipients of the Military Cross University of Alberta alumni Canadian military personnel from Alberta

Biography

See also

References

External links